THE ARTIC OCEAN

This, the smallest of the four oceans, lies almost entirely
above the Arctic Circle (66.5° N). Nearly surrounded by land, its
only outlets are the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, Davis Strait
between Greenland and Canada, and Denmark Strait and the Norwegian Sea
between Greenland and Europe. The Arctic Ocean has an area of 14,090,000
sq km and an average depth of 3,658 m off of the continental shelf. The
lowest point is Fram Basin which is 4,665 m deep. The Artic Ocean has
the widest continental shelf of all the oceans.

The Arctic Ocean is divided into two basins, the Eurasian
Basin, and the North American Basin, by the Lomonosov Ridge. There are
also submarine ridges between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. This results
in a large stagnant pool of cold water at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean,
since land and submarine ridges block water from flowing out. The main
current in the Arctic Ocean is the East Greenland current. This current
is strong due to the number of rivers that flow into the Arctic Sea, the
low rate of evaporation, and the land and submarine ridges surrounding
the ocean. Two other weak currents flow out of the Arctic Ocean, the Labrador
Current which runs through Smith Sound and Baffin Bay, and one that runs
out of the Bering Straight. There is also a circular current in the Arctic
Basin which is created by water deflecting off of Northern Greenland.

The central part of the ocean is permanently covered
in about ten feet of ice. Pressure ridges in the ice can sometimes reach
three times that height. In the summer months, the icepack is surrounded
by water and free-floating. During the winter, the icepack expands to
nearly twice its summer area, reaching the land on all sides. Due to the
extreme temperatures people thought that non-oceanic life didn't exist
in the Arctic. However, marine life abounds in the open seas, and hares,
polar bears, seals, gulls, and guillemots have been found as far north
as 88°.